Welcome in my universe, the fun universe of languages, challenge
and passion. This website aims at letting you learn a little bit more about
myself. I'm a 33 year-old, married young woman. I was born in Haïti and was
adopted by Canadian parents at the age of
3.
When I got out of high school, I first studied in
languages. Not knowing what to do afterward , I started working. A few years
later, the company I worked for shut down and I decided to go back to school
and do a second DEC in hotel management. That's when I moved to Quebec city in
1997. After my studies in hotel management, I started working in my field, but
lacking of challenges I soon realized that I wasn't fulfilling myself at all. So
I left the hotel business definitely to do numerous
different jobs, particularly for the Quebec government. It is only at the age of
30 that I finally made up my mind and decided to do my bachelor's degree in
teaching ESL (English as a second language) at Laval University. It is through teaching that I will
now pursue my dearest dream, and work in the field that I am most passionate
about, languages.
How did I learn English as a second
language?
I guess that since I was a
little girl, I've always been interested in people's background and culture.
Being Haïtian myself and adopted at 3 years old, I
was very soon asked to learn another language than my native language, Creole.
I first had to learn French to communicate with my new family. My adoptive
parents, being travelers and carrying me along with them most of the time,
passed on to me the interest and passion for other
languages.
It mostly
started when I was in elementary school. I soon developed a certain ability to
learn English quickly. Traveling to Florida every winter for about 3 to 4
months, my parents brought me along with them most of the time. During my
numerous trips, I used to meet with many children my age and we played together
without always understanding each other. Using signs and body language, we
always came to understand one another. Since there's no barriers at that age and
also no pressure, it was a very good time and environment for me to learn.
Then,
when I was in the fourth grade, instead of going to Florida with my parents, I stayed with my brother and his family in New
Hampshire. My brother's wife and daughter are Americans and do not speak a word
of French. Since I was there for a few months, I attended school. They
registered me in an elementary school and I had regular classes with other
American kids my age, and once in a while I had special workshops with a French
tutor. It was a great experience.
Once I got into high school though, my English level was kind of
too high for the Quebec school program, so my English teacher told my parents
that I was losing my time in his class and recommended that, if possible, it
would be best if I was studying in an English environment. My parents decided
then, that for the year to come I would be attending school in Florida. So they
decided to pack and rent our house in Rimouski for a year (because at the
beginning it was only for a year...). We packed our bags and moved to Florida in
a motor home. When I arrived in Florida, it was very
scary and destabilizing for me... new school, new friends, new city and new
house (motor home). It was quite an adventure!!! What was first supposed to be 1
year ended up to be 3 years. Since the American and Quebec school systems are
very different, it would have been too complicated to come back after only one
year, in the middle of high school. So I preferred to stay in Florida and
graduate over there.
My
strategies:
When I first arrived there, I didn't speak a lot, just listened and
observed. I also was part of a ESOL program (English for students of other
languages) with other non-English speakers, so I didn't feel too left out. It
was very interesting, I met different people from different cultures (Brazil, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Haïti, China, etc.).
As the years went by, I improved a lot and was eventually able to attend
regular English classes where I studied American and English literature.
The Result:
I am proud to say that after my 3 years, I graduated as an HONOR ROLL student. I'm lucky to say that I
have terrific and open-minded parents who are not scared of adventure and who
support and push me (and still today) to realize myself and not be scared of
trying new things and challenge myself constantly. After all, they set a
good example. They adopted me when they were in
their 50's...
